Antonio Villaraigosa

Antonio Villaraigosa, originally in full Antonio Ramón Villar, (born January 23, 1953, Los Angeles, California, U.S.), American politician who served as the mayor of Los Angeles (2005–13), the first Hispanic to hold the post since 1872.

Villaraigosa (whose name is an amalgamation of his own family name, Villar, and that of Corina Raigosa, whom he married in 1987 and divorced in 2007) grew up in a predominantly Latino area of East Los Angeles, where he and his three younger siblings were raised by their mother. He was politically involved from age 15—volunteering with the farmworkers’ movement and participating in protest marches. A rebellious teenager, he dropped out of high school during his junior year but eventually was persuaded to return to school, and he went on to attend East Los Angeles College and the University of California in Los Angeles, where he received a bachelor’s degree in history in 1977. In 1985 he received a law degree from the People’s College of Law in Los Angeles.

Though Villaraigosa never passed the bar exam, his legal training came into play during his 15 years spent working for unions, including United Teachers Los Angeles. He also worked for the Southern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, serving as its president in 1993. In 1990 he was appointed to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Board, holding that post until his election in 1994 to the state assembly. He was elected assembly speaker in 1998. Before stepping down in 2000 because of term limitations, Villaraigosa led initiatives to improve public schools and expand water-quality enforcement, and he was the author of a state health insurance program, Healthy Families, that expanded coverage for the children of low-income families. In 2001 he made a bid to unseat the incumbent mayor, fellow Democrat James Hahn, but he lost to Hahn in the general election. He was, however, elected to the city council in 2003, representing Los Angeles’s 14th District. In that role he turned his attention to the resolution of a transit strike and to protecting arts funding. In 2004 he served as a cochairman of Democratic candidate John Kerry’s presidential campaign.

Villaraigosa again ran for mayor in 2005, this time winning the election. He took office on July 1, 2005, becoming Los Angeles’s first Latino mayor since 1872. He subsequently worked to implement school reform, green initiatives, and massive funding of the city’s transit system. However, much attention was focused on his high-profile social life, which included an extramarital affair with a TV reporter. In addition, detractors questioned his effectiveness as mayor, alleging he was more interested in the spotlight. Despite such criticisms, he was easily reelected in 2009. Villaraigosa’s second term was notable for a steady decline in the city’s crime rate. In 2012 he chaired the Democratic National Convention. Barred from a third term, he left office in 2013.

Villaraigosa remained active in politics, and he spoke out on a number of issues, including Social Security reform and immigration reform.